The Last of the Ancients
by Lyra.Bella
Summary: The story of how Ifalna met Aeris's father... Her REAL father.
1. Chapter 1

**The Last of the Ancients**

A Final Fantasy VII Fanfic

_Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the Final Fantasy games, movies or characters._

_Background info: The basic story for this came to me in a dream, and at first the main character was just some nameless girl, but only later did I realize it could only be the story of Aeris' mother Ifalna. It's rather short, but complete. Enjoy!_

They say the _Cetra_, or _Ancients_, as they are sometimes called, mate for life. This bond is so strong that it can transcend even death. Ifalna found her mate on that beautiful spring day when the Shin-Ra raided her village and wiped out her people.

The attack began in the early hours of the morning. The soldiers had surrounded the seclusive mountain village during the night and started pouring into the streets at the crack of dawn. There was no escaping them.

They systematically went through all the houses, knocking down doors and pulling every last man, woman and child from their beds, brutally beating down any resistance without hesitation.

Ifalna had been up early as usual, preparing breakfast for her family, when she heard screams and through the kitchen window saw the people being dragged into the town square. Many were still clad in their nightgowns, shivering in the morning air that still bore the crispness of the recent winter.

She ran to wake her father, who quickly sized up the situation and amidst their protests shoved his daughter and her little brother into a closet and with a hammer positioned himself behind the door of the little cottage.

Only seconds later, three men dressed in black body armor stormed through the door and knocked the father to the ground. The boy, seeing this through a crack in the wooden door, shook off the arms of his sister who was desperately trying to hold him back, and sprang from the closet with a loud cry to help his father. With his small fists he started pounding the soldier who had beaten his father, but the man picked him up effortlessly by the scruff of his neck and held him up at arms length, laughing.

The father, springing up to protect his son, fell to his knees again after the second soldier dealt him a vicious blow to the legs. As the girl watched from inside the closet, the first soldier drew an automatic gun and fired a salvo into her father's chest. At this, the boy began to scream and struggled even more violently, until the second soldier fired a single bullet to his head and the small body slumped to the floor.

The third soldier, who couldn't have been older than 20, had during all this been standing to one side and had grown very pale. The first soldier ordered him to search the closet for any more survivors, saying he thought he had heard a sob. The young man approached the closet with caution, slowly reaching for the half-open door with one hand while holding his gun at the ready in the other.

Inside the closet he found, amidst a wild jumble of clothes and blankets, the tear-streaked face of the girl. The moment their eyes met, she felt as if she had been struck by a bolt of lightning, and he too had a strong and unknown sensation, a kind of tingling mixed with longing.

After staring at her for a second or two, he pulled himself together and, calling out „All clear, Sir!" turned around and shut the door of the closet, just a little too loudly. The girl heard one of the other men give the order to move out, then the door slammed, and she was alone.


	2. Chapter 2

The young soldier, who was still quite pale, asked to be excused and was relieved of duty, amidst the jeers of his comrades. As soon as he dared, he snuck back to the cottage where he had left the girl. All the other soldiers were now assembling in the town square, having rounded up all the villagers.

The young man found the girl on the floor of the cottage, weeping over the dead bodies of her family, barely noticing him. She allowed herself to be wrapped in his arms but wouldn't budge from where she was sitting. When he tried to pull her to her feet, she let out a sharp cry and blasted him with some kind of magic spell, throwing him against the wall and almost knocking him unconscious. Half mad with rage and grief, she stood over him, lightning crackling from her fingertips, preparing to deal the fatal blow.

He had made no attempt to defend himself. But when she looked at him, that same strange sensation rushed through her once more, staying her hand. A force stronger than gravity was pulling them together, and they did not question it. Without saying a word, they took each other's hand and walked right out of the village and into the mountains.

Just as they were reaching the first turn in the road, a sound like rolling thunder made them turn around. From this distance, all they could make out were people like little ants, but the bright flashes made it all too clear what was going on.

She would have run back, had he not held on to her with all his might. She turned to look at him, and in his eyes, she saw her own pain reflecting back at her. They walked on and did not look back again.

The girl had grown up in these mountains and knew them very well. She led him to a cave where they hid until the soldiers pulled out. During this time, they spoke very little. Ifalna was still under the influence of the morning's events and remained huddled in a corner for most of the day, quietly humming and chanting to herself. The young man snuck out of the cave a couple of times to check on the soldiers and to use his radio. He made several calls, arranging for a friend in the nearby town of Ravenport to pick them up at midnight with a hovercraft. From the communications he intercepted he gathered that he had been reported missing and was wanted as a deserter. Not that he had thought of ever going back again.

When the sun went down behind the mountains, the temperature in the cave dropped very rapidly, and although she didn't say anything, the young man could tell that she was freezing. They couldn't risk building a fire, so he took off his jacket and wrapped it tightly around her. She gave him a strange, intense look but didn't object. He held her until their transport arrived.


	3. Chapter 3

In town, they checked into a shady little motel using a fake name. The room was small and dirty, but the young couple was soon lost in a little world of their own, making love with the urgency of young lovers and the desperation of fugitives.

When the sun rose on a new day, they walked slowly hand in hand to the misty docks, where the ship lay waiting that he had arranged passage on for her. He would follow her as soon as the military stopped looking for him.

He handed her a short note to his friend, Professor Gast Faremis, asking him to keep Ifalna safe until he would be able to catch up with her. The ship was bound north, and she would have to continue traveling by land for several more days, to reach the village where the Professor lived, which was very secluded and lay outside the Shin-Ra's influence.

When the time came to say goodbye, she found that tearing herself away from him was the hardest thing she ever had had to do. Finally, they parted, whispering sweet promises of meeting again very soon.

Ifalna remained on deck for a long, long time after the ship had set off, gazing at her lover who was still standing, unmoving, on the receding quay. Suddenly, three black cars pulled into the street, and as she watched helplessly, the young man was overwhelmed and dragged into one of the vehicles, which immediately drove off, leaving no trace of him ever having been there.

Oblivious to this tragedy, the ship chugged on, carrying the broken-hearted girl north, to Icicle Inn.

_The End_


End file.
